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Mr Hendricks Cafe // Balwyn

I went and had my first visit to Mr Hendricks Cafe a little while ago and it was a great first time experience! It’s not a cheap eat but this place has nice service and a nice atmosphere. I like the visual appearance of the cafe and despite how there is both an indoor + outdoor seating area the service is quite quick and efficient.
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Simple yet trendy decor!

On the day we arrived a little earlier than 11:30 and because I had heard so much about their soft shell crab burger dish I really wanted to try it. The menu says it’s only available after 11:30 because it’s a lunch dish, but the waiter kindly told me the chef would make an exception and I was able to order it! (YAY)

Soft shell crab buger // 17.00 + Rosemary chips // 3.50 extra
I was definitely NOT disappointed with the soft shell crab burger. The crab remained quite crunchy throughout the whole time eating it (when I was at Hammer & Tong’s my experience was a quite soggy and uncrunchy soft shell crab). I throughougly enjoyed the flavours and yup thought it was delicious! Highly recommend this if you enjoy burgers and double bonus if you enjoy soft shell crab.
Unfortunately I can’t say the same for the rosemary fries – as you can see from the picture there’s not much of a hint that there’s even rosemary in the chips. My friend actually ordered this before and said there was TONS of rosemary at the time and it looked completely different, so we actually asked the waiter about it, in which he actually took the chips back and said he’d add more in, but when he returned honestly it looked almost the same, maybe just an extra pinch of salt. The chips weren’t bad but it definitely wasn’t anything spectacular :( Also not worth my $3.50! (I’d rather get some grilled or schnitz chips!). Though, I really do think if these chips changed back to the way my friend described them (with heaps of visible rosemary) it would be worth the $$.
Friend’s dish – Prawn & Corn Fritters // 16.50
Friend’s dish – Slow Cooked Salmon w/ mango salsa // 21.50

Chai Latte // 4.00
This looked pretty amazing AND different. The chai actually comes with an additional sieve and cup. Afterwards you can see all the raw spices infused into your drink which makes it pretty authentic. You know you’re drinking the real stuff ;)

I really enjoyed my time here and I would come back for the soft shell crab burger. I feel as though Mr Hendricks might just be a close twist on Top Paddock (the menu design even looks quite similiar!) but this was a more pleasant experience. It’s not as crowded and parking is definitely easier. I am a bit unsure about their other dishes from reading other reviews, for example their crispy eggs dish (heard A LOT of people who loved it but then others who hated it) so I feel unsure about that! My friends who had a meal with me at Mr Hendricks Cafe also said they enjoyed their dishes, however the taste started to get a bit repetitive and bland?

Hmm… my take on it is that I’ve only been here once and in terms of standard I think it’s pretty up there. I would like to come back from more special occasions because of the price, but I do feel like visually it’s not as casual as places like Moka Pot and Aura.